ABOUT US > Team Biographies
The "Team Bios" page contains feedback from our team members about their experiences as a dragon boat paddler.
Adrienne
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Do you remember Adrienne (DH2007)? Well, she's moved on to work in HK, but still wants to paddle. She met up with Audrey (DH2007 paddler who also went back to HK) and they decided to join a team. Well, here's what Adrienne said:
"guess what i did today?
i went to DRAGON BOAT
There were older people.. business people... mostly guys who have "VERY good" backgrounds.
for example, the people i met were either working for UBS (an international very high up there bank), banker, or working for their family business. okay, what kind of family business... there's watch and jewelry manufacturing, Jade with companies in China and their company will advertise during the Beijing Olympics, shoe company....
i was like.. i'm a graphic designer.... sigh....
after dragon boat we had a "meeting".
basically it was a snack time and i got to hear about their conversations like this: "i have changed all my euros to rmb dollars, and i'm investing 20,000 at 3 different banks for ???", "how much is your company doing advertising during the 2008 olympics?", "my parking monthly fee is 3000 at Central", "it took me 1hour to find parking before dragon boat", "i'm going to vegas next week and my grads from San Fran are going to meet me up for JUSt one day to chill", etc etc.
i really dont' think i want to paddle with these guys.
however,
the real dragonboating experience
it wasn't hardcore at all
actually... it is VERY different from vancouver practices
no drills, no technique building... and the coach really sucked. (JOHN ROCKS!!!!)
i think we can pick any dragon hearts paddler and have them coach better than the one i had today (i'm so serious!!)
it didn't feel like we were really practicing but rather just leisure playing
the coach said that audrey and I were well-paddlers!
tiff help me thank JOHN for this!! you can even tell him my paddling experience to others too i'm sure they are curious!
the water at Chek Chu (Stanley) was CRAZy
i was soaken wet from head to toe and the water is extremely salty!!!" - 4/27/2008
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Way |
Hiya... All I can say is that we can't make it happen without U....yeah!? U, U, and U Way To Go - 2006 |
Bobby Sam |
It rains everytime we
dragonboat.? Funny, I never feel it... XD - 2006 |
Lena Kuang |
I definitely found out what "'WATER-SPORT'' means.
After every practice I had to skytrain home wearing pants that are
wet in awkward places! Ha! But I wouldn't mind doing it again!
- 2006 |
Tiffany
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What I dislike most: smelly false creek water. What I like most: team spirit!! - 2006 |
Sunny
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I've really enjoyed my dragonboating experience. From my teammates, I've learned a lot
from these people. They have taught me how teamwork can produce such desired results as winning out first race. That feeling of not only winning but winning as a team together is something I can not use words to describe. Only the participants share this and I'm glad to be part of it. From our coach, I truly appreciate all the time and effort that was dedicated to us. Our team started out not knowing anything at all about this sport and came out at the end proud. For me, this is an amazing accomplishment! Thank you everyone for giving me this experience. - 2006 |
Lillian Kwok
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Say 'thank you' when you're splashed by someone. Come on.. it's a water sport. "THANK YOU!!" Dragon boat is something I look forward to every week mainly because of Team CCPC.(<3) This team is really cool. People here are really nice! I'm not really good with words. Hahha.. This water sport is unique. It trains you to be tough from inside out. Most important of all, this sport brings out the tiger in you. Discover the inner strength, everyone. I'm sure a lot of us have discovered something new about ourselves at the end of each season. Awww c'mon. Thank you CCPC! Thank you John, Ming and Marjorie for putting this all together! nnn I also wanna say thank you to Tiff and Peter for giving Dragon Boat a try haha. I'm so happy to see good friends committed to Dragon Hearts...this great big family. I'm sooo glad to see y'all are having fun and seriously gaining something back from this experience. ^^ - 2006 |
Swin: |
Thanks everyone for your support and commitment. It takes a team to accomplish what we have accomplished and I am very proud of it. I had a lot of fun, some ups and some downs, but still lots of fun and laughter. It was a great accomplishment, as individuals and as a team. Hopefully, we will make this a yearly tradition. Something to look forward to every year. Thanks - 2006 |
Marjorie Wong: |
CCPC volunteers have been asking me to organize a team for two years, and I finally arranged it this year.I was very fortunate to know John Ko of eight years; he gave our CCPC volunteers the opportunity to paddle together.Through John's dedication as a volunteer coach and his financial support, we were able to race this year at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.
We started practice in March once a week and later, we practiced two times a week.The vast majority of paddlers gave a lot of commitment and dedication to the team. Rotation, Timing, Leg Drive is repeated at every practice, regatta, and the big race weekend. You could hear John consistently reminding us to "paddle until you puke!!" That's exactly how you felt on race weekend. But, when you think about it--each race was under 3 minutes - our best time 2 minutes and 24 seconds (3 seconds from claiming a medal). When you think about it that way, it's not a lot to ask "paddle until you puke!!"
Elizabeth and I, being the strokers tried to maintain the pace.?We had to watch each others timing as well as watching/listening to Marga, our drummer, to be in unison. The team was counting on us - 60%, 80% then 100% - "do not be a tourist", "focus in the boat", "no talking" shouts John. Way, our steersperson, had to concentrate on keeping our boat lined up and call "finish" when the time came. "Way to go, Way!" The rest of the CCPC Team was responsible for keeping the timing. What a job! Our Team Manager Ming, who was responsible at our regatta and the big race weekend, kept track of where the paddlers were. Ming checked for what time we were to meet, where to meet and also found out when we would line up for our races. "Great job, Ming!"
Three months of emails back and forth confirming our attendance. All that organization with everyone working together! It's come to an abrupt stop! Now, back to our regular routine.
But, wasn't it a wonderful accomplishment to make it into the championship round!! We should all be proud of ourselves, we can build on this positive learning experience and do better the next time. Let's do it again next year and show what power we really have...Rotation, timing, leg drive, drive it in.....! Goooooooooo Dragon Hearts!! Dedicated to a fantastic group of paddlers - 2006 |
Alan:
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It was a great experience, everything from being soaked to feeling the rush from paddling your heart out.The team supported one another, and cheered throughout the whole race and then some, I dont know about the others, but I couldn't talk for 3 days afterwards. - 2006 |
Jia:
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Hey John, Thanks so much for raising this team and binding us all together as one. Without you, we'd never have had such a great experience in dragonboat. You made us feel like we could do it. Despite the fact that we were a first year team and didn't always come in first, we still feel like winners. I'm really glad that you were our coach this year and I am grateful for all the hardwork you put in to our team. Thanks! Best Wishes for the summer! - 2006 |
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